Kenneth Robbins
African Rulers in South Asia: The Royal Families of Janjira and Sachin
Summary
Please note this session was only available to watch live.
Multiple East African rulers and strongmen attained political and military power over non-Africans in South Asia. For more than 300 years, Janjira (south of Bombay) was ruled by one such elite, which was known for its impregnable island fort and naval forces. The lecture focuses on the tragic story of one Janjira Nawab and his feminist wife, as well as the accomplishments of members of the Sachin royal family. Kenneth Robbins has arranged for special appearances by Nawab Sidi Reza Khan, the present Nawab of Sachin; his sister, Princess Farah, and Faaeza Jasdanwalla-Williams, niece of the Nawab of Janjira and a historian specializing in the African diaspora and women in the Ottoman Empire.
Kenneth Robbins
Kenneth Robbins has amassed a large diverse South Asian collection, which will be the basis for an archive at the University of Pennsylvania Library. He has published 17 books and 157 articles, mostly on maharajas and other local Indian rulers as well as South Asian minority groups like African muslim elites and Jews. He is creating an Indian Jewish Heritage Trail and working on documenting “small international crises” in Asia, Africa, and the Ottoman empire. Two of his many exhibitions documented the history of Jews in Indian movies. Three of his co-edited volumes develop different aspects of studying Afro-South Asia in the African global diaspora. They are African Rulers and Generals in India, African Diasporan Communities Across South Asia, and Black Ambassadors of Politics, Religion, and Jazz in India.